Our objective was to test the hypothesis that respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection during infancy with genotypes containing previously reported G gene sequence duplications (Gdups) is associated with an increased risk of childhood asthma. In a population-based, prospective, birth cohort of healthy, term children, we found that children with RSV-A Gdup+ (adjusted odds ratio aOR = 2.00, 95%CI = 1.15-3.47) and RSV-B Gdup + (aOR = 1.78, 95%CI = 1.01-3.11) infections during infancy had higher odds of 5-year current asthma than those without RSV infection during infancy. These findings are proof-of-concept evidence that RSV genetic variation is associated with variable childhood asthma risk.
Rosas‐Salazar et al. (2026) studied this question.